For those who are of Ephraim, holding the rights

and responsibilities of the kingdom, this is your

forum; to pursue remedy for our ills, and

accomplish the bringing forth of Zion.

HOW EPHRAIM FUNCTIONS

EPHRAIM ECONOMICS

"Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land"............No usury

In Ephraim's economic sphere, as in all other aspects of Ephraim, free agency is paramount. The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of life, liberty, and property. That is, to be free from restraint. One's life and property might justly be called one as it is the time and labors of one's life that brings property. Thus to have liberty, true liberty, it must cover the gamut of one's being.

Liberty and liberal are derived from liber, "free". Americans (Ephraimites), when free, are the most productive people in the world, and the most free with their substance, or liberal in their giving. The amount given to charities each year is staggering. This is the spirit of Ephraim, this is the spirit that was in John Winthrop when he coun-seled the Puritan colonists ... "Wee must be knit together and work as one man," he told the Saints. Wee must entertaine each other in broth-erly affeccion, wee must be willing to abridge ourselves of our super-fluities, for the supply of others necessities..." (Building the City of God, page 1)

Ancient Israel had laws that show this same spirit. Usury, the charging of interest, was forbidden amongst them. And though a man might sell his inheritance (his land) or even himself, neither could actually be sold for, "At the end of every seventh year thou shalt make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother; because it is called the Lord's release. ... save when there shall be no poor among you;" (Deut. 15:l, 2, 4) Not only could there be no interest, but none for thirty or forty years so that a man must pay over $100,000 for a $50,000 house. Such is the benevolence and brotherly love of the International Banking Jew, so called. Remember the release was not the release of interest owed but of that which had been lent. If your brother was poor and could not re-pay at the time of release you were to release it, let it be a gift. "Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is lent upon usury:" (Deut. 23:19) It is God who makes us free and He wants us to be free with one another, "For the earth is full, And there is enough and to spare; ... Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell being in

torment." (D & C 104:18) If we are to preserve that liberty that the Lord has bestowed upon us then we must learn to be liberal with each other. If we cannot learn to be liberal with each other, if we cannot learn to be free with one another then the usurers will not be bound, but have place amongst us. To allow usurers to be amongst us is to allow parasites to come in and sap us of our vitality, control our eco-nomy, and with it divest us of our freedom. Which is what is happening in America and the World today.

The Light, Truth or Law - Gospel of Jesus Christ -

Law of Consecration or U. O.

"If one but looks or seeks the light, truth or law (Gospel of Jesus Christ) ... he shall find pure knowledge and live (a new life)." (Township: Man's Birthright)

With the restoration of the Gospel came a restoration of God's laws, and with them the spirit of John Winthrop can be heard, "... entertaine each other in brotherly affeccion, wee must be willing to abridge our-selves of our superfluities, for the supply of others necessities ..."

The law of God was, "... remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken." (D & C 42:30) "... the Saints were to make a consecration of whatsoever things they pos-sessed unto the Bishop, and then each man receive from the Bishop a stewardship. Every man was to be equal in his stewardship, according

to his family, his circumstances, and his needs." (DHC 1:180) This is explained in a letter to Bishop Partridge.

"I proceed to answer your questions, concerning the consecration of property: - First it is not right to condescend to very great particu-lars in making inventories. The fact is this, a man is bound by the law of the Church, to consecrate to the Bishop, before he can be considered a legal heir to the kingdom of Zion; and this too, without constraint; and unless he does this, he cannot be acknowledged before the Lord on the Church Book; ... The matter of consecration must be done by mutual consent of both parties; for to give the Bishop power to say how much every man shall have, and he be obliged to comply with the Bishop's judgment, is giving to the Bishop more power than a king has; upon the other hand to let every man say how much he needs, and the Bishop be obliged to comply with his judgment, is to throw Zion into confusion, and make a slave of the Bishop. The fact is, there must be a balance or equilibrium of power, between the Bishop and the people; and thus har-mony and good will may be preserved among you. Therefore, those persons consecrating property to the Bishop in Zion, and then receiving an in-heritance back, must reasonably show to the Bishop that they need as much as they claim. But in case the two parties cannot come to mutual agreement, the Bishop is to have nothing to do about receiving such con-secrations; and the case must be laid before a council of Twelve High Priests, the Bishop not being one of the council, but he is to lay the

case before them." (TPJS, page 22:23) After this, "... every man shall be made accountable unto me, steward over his own property, or that which he has received by consecration, as much as is sufficient for himself and family." (D & C 42:32)

Stewardship ........... United Order ..........Communalism

The United Order, or law of Consecration as described in the D & C to unite the people in accordance with the law of the celestial kingdom (see D & C 105: 3, 4), was quite diverse from the United Orders estab-lished in Brigham's Deseret. The one was to strictly function on a basis of stewardships, the other was communal. Though some thought the United Order they were functioning in was according to the command of God, Erastus Snow, and John Taylor both explained that it was not, but that it was an experiment of Brigham Young. Of the United Orders in Deseret it was said that they were taking "baby steps" toward the real thing. They were close enough, with their flaws, to prove as truth the axiom that, "Man's own needs are met best when society's needs are met at the same time". The one hailed as the most successful was Order-ville. Many have thought that its success came from its system or the way they did things. Studies show that it was not their system that brought their success, it was the people themselves. Their system was similar to most, and most failed. Orderville succeeded because of the magnitude of the people themselves. Those seeking acceptance into Orderville were asked 20 questions, question #5 was, "Are you willing for yourself and all you possess to be governed and controled by the Board of Management, or any person or persons authorized for them to act?" Joseph Smith said there must be a balance of power, here the balance was definitely off. But the ability of the people to elect righteous men to their Board of Management gave them the ability to live under a righteous rule; it was definitely a community of the rulers and the ruled. My great grandfather Charles Allen was one of the ruled, and my good friend's great grandfather or ancestor was one of the rulers, Samuel Claridge. The financial success and longevity of the Order prove the merit of the people themselves.

Sunset, Arizona, or the United Order there was presided over by Lot Smith; it was very successful and exported food to other settlements, and that in the first years of their settlement. But Lot Smith, "... imposed an iron will upon the entire settlement. His firm rule ensured the economic success of the colony. ... (but) his high handed tactics were resented by many who left the community and no doubt by many who stayed." (Building the City of God, pages 297-298)

As with most United Orders, Sunset was dissolved with a good deal of hard feelings; this was not so with Joseph City, they were, "Men of different temperament and more democratic inclination ... They departed quickly from the communal living arrangement ... is evident in the motion "that we have every Saterday afternoon for any purpose of our own that we wish to do." Unanimous consent was given ... Frequently members raised questions and made suggestions as to the best system ... the mem-bers voted to divide up the Orders' assets and proceed under a steward-

ship arrangement ... from the beginning there was a discernable trend toward individualism. Most remarkable is the fact that apparent good will and harmony prevailed throughout the life of the Order. ... it would seem that the highest ideals of the Order came closer to real-ization in Joseph City than in most United Order communities." (Building the City of God, pages 298-299).

At Bunkerville they switched from communal living to the "stewardship system ... Following the law of Consecration as in Joseph Smith's 1831 revelation, ... When accounts began to be kept of the production and consumption of each family, it became glaringly obvious to the company that some were not carrying their weight. As recorded in the records ... some stewardships through their economy and industry were gathering up in abundance, while others, through carelessness and bad management, were wasting the means of the Company, each year being increasingly in debt. This was very unsatisfactory to those whose ambition was to accumulate, at least, the necessaries of life. ... at a general meeting ... it was voted that each steward would have the right to draw only 80% of the proceeds of his labor. The remaining 20% was to be retained in the treasury ... Dissent against so drastic an effort to prevent the less productive from draining away company assets destroyed the Order." (ibid pages 305-307)

At Orderville, and I suppose all the United Orders that were communal, they had, "Tradesmen, accustomed to established wages for their labors, ... thrown in with farmers, who did not think in terms of dollars earned for hours spent. A means of fairly rewarding both had to be devised. ... Men were credited with $1.50 a day, ... There was no differentiation in the rate ... any type of labor or occupation, be it skilled, unskilled, or managerial." (ibid pages 266, 276, 277) Erastus Snow stated that people, "deserved credit for what they had done, (and) ... began to emphasize the experimental nature of the Order. ... He argued that ... the system of giving equal credit for unequal labor had been unsound;" ... the group voted to adopt something approaching a piece-rate wage system, with six-month stewardships for many enterprises of the Order." (ibid, page 285) These changes brought this letter from the First Presidency saying, "... When you changed your system from that of giving equal labor credits and disbursements to that of giving men credit according to their skill, etc., just as is done in society elsewhere, you opened the door for selfishness and other feelings to enter," (ibid, page 289)

At Kanab, "... the Bishop asked Brigham Young ... if a move toward the more individualistic stewardship system might not be desirable. The Church President replied emphatically that it was not." The system of stewardships which we have counseled the people here to enter upon is not so far advanced and does not approach so near to the Order of Enoch as that system which you have entered into ..." (ibid, page 258)

Covetousness ....... Watchman on the Tower ....... Dogs to their Vomit

The simplicity of the United Order as designated by the Lord makes

one wonder why it failed. Brigham Young knew why and he was trying to provide a stepping-stone so to speak because he knew the covetousness of the people. He hoped that communally they would be forced to work in unity, see and feel the benefits that are derived therefrom, and gain the desire to be united. For this has always been the problem with the United Order; it has never been united. Though to whatever extent they have been united they have benefitted from it commensurately.

"Orson Hyde was mild as milk toward the idea" of communal living. (Erastus Snow by Larson, page 529) And after Brigham's death, "... President Taylor's views on the United Order were on the stewardship principle. (At Orderville) He did not talk to us so freely about our labors and doing business as he would otherwise have done. After leav-ing, when talking at other settlements, he made the remark that we should have [to] make changes, but we were a good people." (Samuel Claridge by Ellsworth, page 203, 204). So for those who feel the pat-tern established by the Lord was for a communal United Order; it must be established as a historical fact that it was an experiment of Brigham Young. According to Samuel Claridge, "President Taylor was more parti-cular, for there are many of the revelations that are very plain on the principle of stewardship ..." (ibid, page 198)

But irregardless of communal or stewardship, the United Order has never yet been united enough to establish itself with the stability and strength which has been promised to those who will abide by its prin-ciples.

The Lord tells us plainly why it failed in Jackson County, Missouri. Because of "covetousness" and "feigned words". In parable form, it was because they didn't build a tower and put a watchman on it.

"Covetousness - one of the three most disgraceful things, mentioned in numerous catalogues of vice in the papyri and extra-biblical writ-ings, meaning literally 'a desire to have more.'" (The New Smith's Dictionary) With feigned words means they are willing to lie in order to get more. The record at Orderville shows this plainly:

"Whereas (Joe Blow) has seen fit to sever his connection with the United Order, and upon settlement it is found that he is in debt to the Order the sum of $665.93 (this would be ten times that amount in today's money, or value), and whereas for several months past he has been un-faithful in his labors, loitering and trifling his time away and other-wise breaking his covenants ... be it resolved (as an act of charity) ... the above indebtedness be cancelled." (Building the City of God, page 282) I believe in charity, but what about charity for the laborer? Irregardless of the form a United Order takes, it must be geared to eliminate the idler, or parasite, or it will eliminate the laborer.

Although both Brigham Young and John Taylor advised United Orders to be careful and keep parasites out; Henry Esplin, Bishop of Orderville from 1883 - 1911 talked about the problem of "allowing those who might become parasites on the body from becoming members". (It) "became a

menace by breeding discontent and throwing the responsibility for the support of their (the parasites) families on those who must assume it"

continued the Bishop: If all had accepted responsibility and had worked for the good of the whole, all would have been well, but with a leak here and a leak there, inroads were made. Too much responsibility re-verted to a few and could not be distributed. It would eventually re-solve itself into injustice." (ibid, page 281)

Brigham Young was trying to get the people to see that which is in-nate with Ephraim, as free agency is. Union! The angel that came to George Washington had a crown with "UNION" written upon it. If we are not united then we are divided. It is covetousness that keeps us from being equal, as God wishes; and it is inequality (iniquity) that keeps us divided. We are like the people of Nephi when, "... the people were divided one against another; and they did separate one from another into tribes, (and) ... turned from their righteousness, like the dog to his vomit, or like the sow to her wallowing in the mire." (III Nephi 7:2, 8)

The Lord tells us that, "... all who are found upon the watch-tower, or in other words, all mine Israel, shall be saved." (D & C 101.12) A tower is a symbol of stability and strength; in unity there is strength. It was for the purpose of having strength that the Constitution was written and ratified. Alone each colony was weak, but united they were not to be easy pickings for some foreign power. What was the consumma-tion of that Constitution? When George Washington was sworn in as President of the thirteen United States of America. George Washington was our "Watchman on the Tower". Like a tower - What Strength! Thir-teen nations united like and behind one man. For those thirteen nations he acted, spoke, and watched for danger; for all of us. He was the em-bodiment of us all, and the prayers of the nation(s) were with him.

Covetousness is to want more; and with most it is right now. Keeping up with the Jones's keeps most Americans in a state of perpetual debt, thus continually increasing the usurer (parasite). A man's or a na-tion's ability to produce is their strength. A parasite takes a strong, healthy tree and saps it to the point of death if it is not removed. A Usurer produces nothing but debt, and its accompanying ills, that is, dogs to their vomit and pigs to their mire. We are supposed to love each other and use things, but instead we use each other and love things.

Israel is upon the watch-tower, and they are one with the watchman. Only as one, can the United Order be attempted with success. For if we do as they have done before and, "prepare and organize (y)ourselves by a bond or everlasting covenant that cannot be broken;" (D & C 78:11) and we are not one, that is, we break the covenant, then, "... judgment shall immediately follow", (D & C 82:11) as it did in Jackson County.

"For if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world, you must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you." Wherefore a commandment I give unto you, to

prepare and organize yourselves by a bond or everlasting covenant that cannot be broken. ... Behold, this is the preparation wherewith I prepare you, and the foundation, (the establishing of a storehouse, or the United Order). ... That you may come up unto the crown prepared for you, and be made rulers over many kingdoms, saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Zion," (D & C 78:7, 11, 13 and 15)